Surveys of Victimization - An Optimistic Assessment (From Crime and Justice - An Annual Review, Volume 3, P 1-60, 1981, Michael Tonry and Norval Morris, ed. - See NCJ-80591)

• NCJ Number: 80592
• Author(s): R F Sparks
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 57 pages
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This essay discusses the history of victimization surveys, the National Crime Surveys (NCS), substantive findings from victimization surveys, the methodological problems of such surveys, and the future of victimization surveying.

Abstract

Surveys of victimization, in which members of the public are asked directly about crimes which have been committed against them, have been conducted in the United States and other countries since 1966. The NCS, currently being conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for LEAA, make up the largest program of victimization surveys. Although the victimization survey has significant potential for crime measurement, the method still has many problems. It tends to undercount victimizations, and there is evidence of bias associated with class-linked variables such as education. The NCS, moreover, currently do not use the longitudinal design, which could provide data on the causes and consequences of victimization. Despite their limitations, the surveys done to date tend to indicate that crime is a rare occurrence in people's lives and is far from uniformly or randomly distributed in the population. Victimization surveys have significant potential for influencing police crime statistics and may in time constitute a valuable social indicator. A bibliographic note briefly describes the three now-defunct components of the NCS. A total of 47 footnotes and a bibliography of about 90 listings are included. (Author abstract modified)